Amino Acid Ionic and Metal Complex Explosives

I made a previous thread on some probing of amino acid based explosives. https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=15...
It is titled under "glycine perchlorate" which was the origin topic but expanded in scope. A dedicated thread on the topic is more suitable.

Aspartic acid nitrate was able to melt NQ which was interesting but resulted in a hygroscopic cast. I have recently been experimenting with positive charge side chain amino acids that can hold two anions. Arginine seems to form a dinitrate which is a waxy solid material similar to casted ETN. It melts below 80 C. It is also apparently non-hygroscopic. It melts NQ at least in a 1:1 ratio but NQ content can be pushed more beyond that.

20 g of arginine was reacted with 2.1 mol equivalent 67.2% HNO3. HNO3 was put into a beaker and arginine slowly added with stirring. The arginine dissolves in the acid and the temperature increases to just above 50 C. This was stirred for at least 15 minutes. At the end of stirring, the material solidified and was then melted without drying on a hot plate at 125C. The material melts into a syrup and low density NQ needles were added with stirring until the mix became too thick to magnetically stir. Manual stirring was used to add slightly more than 1:1 w/w ratio of NQ into the melt.

The melt became quite thick and difficult to stir. The melt was removed from heat and cooled for a minute or two before being rolled into a ball. The consistency was approximate to a dense dough. The sample dried overnight and in the next afternoon was set solid like PVC or other cured hard plastic. The sample happened to weigh 50.01 g exactly. This wasn't intentional.

The sample showed no sign if hygroscopicity unlike other amino acid melts that have been tried in the past. It was dry and rock hard to the touch.

The sample was primed with a 1.1 g base charge PETN cap which failed to detonate the melt cast charge. It appears that a booster charge is necessary to detonate NQ when it is melted into higher density. Not surprising but noted.

The highlights of this experiment were:
-Melt cast carrier of simple preparation to melt NQ was learned of
-The amino acid ionic carrier appears substantially non-hygroscopic.
-Arginine does appear to accept two nitrate groups with industrial strength acid.
-Reaction is mild and uneventful.
-Melt casted NQ is difficult to detonate with conventional powered caps alone.



[Edited on 20-10-2024 by Hey Buddy]

Quote: Originally posted by Microtek

That is very interesting. Hygroscopicity has been the main problem when I have examined promising ionic energetics such as urazine perchlorate and many others as well. Have you tried the perchlorate salt yet?

Quote: Originally posted by Etanol

Arginine dinitrate has a very poor oxygen balance. It is not surprising that it does not work. Try melting arginine dinitrate with ammonium nitrate at zero oxygen balance, then agitating and cooling it simultaneously. I think the resulting mix will be capable of detonation.

I have been experimenting more with ANGC, and I must say, for its simplicity it is quite effective as a melt cast carrier. I tested small melt samples, Nitroguanidine melts in a 1:1 ratio. PETN easily melts in a 4:1 ratio. Both materials form a brown paste on melt. This color appears to have nothing to do with destructive decomposition or loss of nitrates. Monitoring some samples for storability or decomp now over long term. I suspect the higher ratio Glycine ANGC formulations with lower mp would actually hold a greater mass of NQ or PETN.



[Edited on 21-11-2024 by Hey Buddy]